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Toronto firefighter who disappeared in New York and wound up in California, may have travelled across U.S. thanks to friendly truck driver

But Danny Filippidis, who may have suffered a head injury, couldn’t remember who drove him or identifying details of the vehicle.

Police on Wednesday were trying to piece together how a 49-year-old skier whose disappearance sparked a massive search on a snowy New York mountainside ended up six days later in California, confused and still in ski clothes. (The Associated Press)

By The Canadian Press

Wed., Feb. 14, 2018

A friendly big-rig driver might have been behind the mysterious cross-country journey by a Toronto fire captain — who was the subject of a massive missing person search for six days — from an upstate New York ski slope to Sacramento.

However, Hampton added, the 49-year-old couldn’t remember who drove him or identifying details of the big rig itself. But he didn’t believe he had been the victim of any crime. Filippidis is suspected to have suffered some type of head injury.

“When we asked him how he got here, he couldn’t remember much,” Hampton said Wednesday. “He was skiing and that’s what he last remembered. He had a significant amount of trouble remembering what occurred over the last few days.”

“At this point, we want to assist Danny in getting back the last six days of his life,” said New York State Police Maj. John Tibbitts.

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Filippidis was heading back to the Lake Placid, New York, area on Wednesday. Tibbitts said the firefighter had agreed to be interviewed by state police but that he’s not aware that Filippidis broke any laws.

Danny Filippidis went missing while skiing in Lake Placid, N.Y., on Feb. 7, 2018, but was found at a California airport six days later. This photo was taken Tuesday in Sacramento. (Sacramento County Sheriff's Department)

He did appear to have recalled bits and pieces of what he’d done over his six-day disappearance from an annual ski trip with family and friends at Whiteface Mountain.

Filippidis told police that he’d withdrawn cash, gotten a haircut and purchased an iPhone, according to Hampton. He was found with just under $1,000 in cash, Hampton said.

Frank Ramagnano, president of the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, said Filippidis had lingered behind his friends to do one more run on the slopes before he vanished just after 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 7.

His disappearance triggered a massive multi-agency search involving members of the U.S. Department of Environmental Conservation, New York state police, Homeland Security, U.S. border officials and volunteer Toronto firefighters, all of whom spent a combined 7,000 hours combing the rugged mountain terrain.

Filippidis called his wife from Sacramento on Tuesday at around 9:30 a.m. local time, ending the search.

“He had phoned (his wife) and called her by a nickname, she quickly recognized the voice and that it was him,” Ramagnano told reporters. “Then they lost contact and he contacted her again and they kept him on the phone and asked him to call 911 to get him help as soon as possible.”

He later called police from Sacramento airport using a newly purchased cellphone and identifying himself by name as someone missing from New York.

Hampton said officers spoke with Filippidis for some time and were confident he was not impaired by drugs or alcohol.

But the gaps in Filippidis’s memory, combined with his surprisingly “nonchalant” demeanour while recounting the unusual events, persuaded officers that he was in need of medical attention.

“Our officers felt that he had potentially some medical health issues, maybe did sustain some head trauma or did have a medical emergency, and they were adamant that he be transported to an area hospital,” he said.

Ramagnano said Filippidis has since been released from hospital and that his family, who has asked for privacy, is arranging for his return home.

Hampton said the Sheriff’s Department is not currently investigating the situation as Filippidis is not believed to have been involved in any criminal activity.

Tibbitts said it was too early in the missing person investigation to comment on details provided from others. He also declined to estimate the cost of the six-day search, which involved a helicopter and up to 140 people a day, some combing the snow with hands.

Police distributed a picture of Filippidis taken in California on Tuesday, hoping people who recognize him can help solve the mystery.

“He wants to find out where he was as badly as we want to find out where he was,” Tibbitts said.

With files from Brennan Doherty and the Associated Press

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